England stare at World Cup embarrassment after pushing self-destruct button
Heading into the game against South Africa, England had reached a point in the 2023 World Cup where it was going to be a test of their character. The stinging defeat at the hands of Afghanistan had understandably shaken the confidence of the defending champions, but they had enough break to review and reflect on where they had gone wrong.
However, when the team news that England has made three changes to their side came in on Saturday, it seemed like a knee-jerk reaction. It felt like they were putting all their eggs in one basket in a bid to try and find the best possible combination.
That led to David Willey being the No. 7 batter and yet they had just five proper bowling options with Joe Root's part-time off-spin. If anything, the changes had only disrupted the balance of the side and all but erased the batting depth, a concept that brought England success as a white-ball force.
Once it seemed like they started on the wrong foot with their XI, it isn't hard to imagine why things went downhill.
Jos Buttler's tactical blunder cost England once again
Before the England vs South Africa game, the Wankhede Stadium had hosted 23 ODIs. Out of these, the side that chased won 12 games and the side that batted first won the remaining 11 matches. So the record wasn't really crying out loud for Buttler to call it a 'chasing ground'.
He relied on dew to make things easier for England, instead of opting to bat first and trying to set the tone of the game on his own terms. This is the same mistake that England made against Afghanistan and one would have hoped that the defeat would have woken them up tactically.
Usually, when you go in with just five proper bowlers, there's always a risk of a lack of backups if a bowler gets injured. While Reece Topley's finger injury wasn't Buttler's fault, the lack of proper bowling options certainly hurt England.
Leaving out all three in Chris Woakes, Sam Curran, and Liam Livingstone meant that Buttler just didn't have anyone to turn to who would give him a breakthrough. Adil Rashid reportedly having an upset stomach also didn't help their cause as the Protea batters gradually began to pile on the misery.
Despite the injury and the illness, both Topley and Rashid somehow fought their way back into the game with wickets, and at 243/5, it seemed like South Africa may find it tough to reach 350. But once again, Marco Jansen and Heinrich Klaasen took full advantage of the lack of variety in England's bowling attack.
The duo, after getting their eye in, absolutely teed off and added a staggering 151 for the sixth wicket partnership. It was almost as if whatever they touched turned to gold as no England bowler was spared. Conceding 143 runs in the last ten overs was such a beating that it ought to have deflated their spirits.
Buttler said after the loss that the heat factor troubled England players, but isn't that something he should have figured out during the practice sessions in the build-up to the game?
Or they could have just looked at the way the Proteas crumbled against The Netherlands and could have decided to inflict the same scoreboard pressure on their opponents. No matter from what angle you look at it, it still seems a decision that almost cannot be justified.
England missed the killer instinct with the bat
Jason Roy's exclusion from the World Cup squad will remain a topic of debate, especially when England's batting has failed. While many may argue that Roy just wasn't in form and was rightly dropped, the one thing that you cannot substitute is the chemistry between the openers.
Roy and Jonny Bairstow were THE MOST threatening opening partnerships in ODI cricket when England's white-ball revolution was at its peak and one of the main reasons was the way they complemented each other.
Roy's presence also used to bring the best out of Bairstow and the numbers tell the story. In 55 matches alongside Roy in the top of the order, Bairstow scored 2429 runs at an average of 48.58, better than his career average that reads 44.11. Also, nine out of his 11 hundreds came when Roy was his opening partner.
Yes, Roy was out of form. But these are the games where teams crave having someone who could break the game open at the top of the order and set up a fantastic chase, something Bairstow and Dawid Malan just haven't been able to do consistently.
Another massive X-factor missing was Liam Livingstone. He may not have had a great World Cup so far. But once again, the ability to turn the game on its head that he brings to the table is something that isn't present in the rest of the batting line-up.
When you already have two losses from three, you cannot afford to leave such players on the bench who could be a massive point of difference. Once you do that, the batting becomes more or less one-dimensional and the only chance of a successful chase remains if things go perfectly well from start to end.
Yes, Harry Brook played a fine knock against Afghanistan, but wasn't he in the XI only because Stokes was injured? Was it really necessary for the defending champions to just disrupt their balance to find a way to fit in both Stokes and Brook? Jos Buttler coming to bat at as low as No. 6 pegged them back further.
When Mark Wood was smashing the ball into the stands, there was a sense of 'I am only delaying the inevitable' in his expressions and body language. The fact that he applied himself better than other batters on a belter of a pitch just spoke volumes about how shambolic a performance it was.
England also seem to have lost faith in Moeen Ali the all-rounder, and dropping the likes of Woakes and Curran wouldn't have helped their confidence one bit. Now with Reece Topley potentially ruled out with a broken finger, problems are just compounding for Buttler and company.
Having lost three games in the entirety of their victorious 2019 World Cup campaign, England have already matched that tally in four matches in the 2023 edition. In an attempt to find solutions to defend their crown, this team seems to be heading more toward the 2015 World Cup route of self-destruction.